Real or Reel?
Ragebait—a tool used to trick netizens into engagement with content so that the person producing it can turn a profit—honestly, if it wasn’t so annoying, I would respect the hustle of humble ragebaiters. However, I have a bone to pick because the plot has been completely lost.
When it comes to harmless little pranks online, such as tricking the audience into thinking that you totally did not notice your partner filming while calling you anything but your first name to get under your skin, or telling you to “shut up” when they typically would never lash out, I usually do not bat an eye.
However, ragebait is an art form; like all art forms, it is one that can be mastered, perfected even. This is where issues of discerning real life from what I like to call “reel life” become tricky.
See—sometimes people will ragebait and, instead of stopping at just one video, decide to dedicate their entire accounts to tricking people into thinking they have anything from extreme beliefs to ways of living or (popularly) unconventional methods of parenting.
I have caught myself stopping mid-scroll, face twisting quickly into strong judgement or disappointment toward whoever faces me from my screen. I’ll admit I have scrolled through accounts, reel after reel, just riling myself up to the point where I feel compelled to comment, share, do something to combat the outrage on my screen.
Until, one day, I realized I can just turn off my phone and—boom—the issue goes with it! Suddenly, I found myself no longer getting worked up over content. If I come across something that makes me angry, I always ask myself first, “when I turn my phone off, will this remain an issue, or can I just move on?”
More often than not, I find that turning off my phone also turns off any negative emotions I was feeling in the moment. People do not have off buttons, but phones do!
